589 replies to this topic

[colinf1]

Finally got my minispares parcel...



Don't have a garage so got the storm force all weather cover. Opened it to discover a large hole in the fabric, looks like rodent damage before it was packed into carry case as there's no damage on the carry case or the plastic wrapper and no bits in the case either.

Have emailed minispares to get it sorted, hopefully get a replacement sent soon.

Edited by colinf1, 21 July 2020 - 08:31 PM.

[cooperd70]

Jeez....just ordered one as well...hope mine doesn't show up in the same condition!

[colinf1]

Jeez....just ordered one as well...hope mine doesn't show up in the same condition!

 

 

Still waiting for any sort of reply from minispares on this, communication seems a bit slow at the minute...

[cooperd70]

Yeah...think they are snowed under with orders and covid distancing etc etc...sure they will be back to you shortly

[GraemeC]

PM [email protected] on here

[colinf1]

PM [email protected] on here

 

Thanks to Simon for getting this sorted. New one on the way.

[colinf1]

Attempting to reassemble the interior heater... Why didn't I take some pictures of it as I was disassembling it lol...

[colinf1]

Heater mostly reassembled, but forgot that the bracket for motor needed to be riveted on, so that'll have to wait.

Removed carburetor and have started to clean it. Main body was caked in gunk so took a good 3 or so hours to get that cleaned. I've some more parts soaking in degreaser ready for cleaning.





Also made a start on adding some plugs to the loom, front indicators & rear loom. Just to make it easier to remove them if needed in the future

[colinf1]

Got another few hours on the carb rebuild yesterday evening, still cleaning up parts and preparing all mating faces. Done a small amount of porting on the air intake elbow, just smoothed out the 2 ridges.

 

Interior heater is fully reassembled now, just need to touch up the heads of the screws with some black paint.

 

Halfway through repairing the grille, the backing frame has been cleaned up and repainted, lots of surface rust removed. Removing the polished finish from the slats as some had been damaged, going for a brushed effect which takes a good amount of time and effort to achieve.

 

Will post some pictures later.

[colinf1]

Finished cleaning all carburetor parts up, not 100% perfect but a lot cleaner than what it was.



I thought the car had a Hs2, but turns out its a HS4 with waxstat. Ordered a rebuild kit to suit, already had bought one for a Hs2.



Smooth inlet, it's pretty smooth even though it's not a mirror finish...



Some of the pitting on the float pot



Cleaner than before...


I know these aren't everyone's cuppa tea - having modern connectors on old cars...






Finished heater,well, a few minor touch ups needed..



Have a few days off now,so hopefully get a good run at things, and hopefully minispares parcel will come early this week..

[colinf1]

Got a good few hours at the car today, bit of a shed tidy up and get all drills charged before starting...had to "jump" charge one of the batteries for impact gun as it had gone too low, it eventually charged.

 

Removed the door handles to replace the locks. I realised the drivers side was missing some parts after taking off the passenger side - its missing the cam, lever and the control rod...bugger

Passenger side one was operating fine so I have disassembled that and cleaned all parts. 

 

As I couldn't complete the locks, I moved onto removing the rear side windows to inspect the lip for rust. Drivers side has a small amount of pitting that had been bogged over, passenger side a little worse for wear...

Cleaned the glass and moved it indoors for safe keeping.

 

 

I expected it to be much worse with the amount of rust that is on the rear bulkhead panel

 

 

A fair amount of holes on passenger side...

 

 

I noticed a bit of bubbling on scuttle panel near A post, a quick lick with wire wheel revealed a small hole...

 

 

I also cleaned around the hole on drivers step/b pillar, nothing major but its all adding up. 

 

Really need to decide which path to take, touch up or full strip and respray. I can see the positives in the full respray, doing it right but its just the time and effort (and €€€'s)

 

 

 

[colinf1]

I think you need to get the window out, that's how I got to mine 20years ago...

Ben

Spot on with this advice. Took glass out and could just about get a 10mm spanner in.

These definitely won't be going back on, way too much hassle for not much visibility.

Got a few more pieces taken off, doors are completely stripped now.

A fair amount of rust on the top inner side of the door panel.



What would be the best way to repair these? Does the door skin come with this inner part?

Frames of both doors look fine, just bubbling at bottom of drivers door skin and passenger door has been filler'd in the past..

Also put the wheels back on to loosen the hub nuts, it has cosmic spacers on the rears, these are definitely not going back on, as you have to loosen the nuts slightly to align them with the hex slot...

Minispares parcels due tomorrow so hopefully get a few more bits cleaned and rebuilt.

[colinf1]

Minispares packages arrived today, well 2 out of 3...ordered 4 new tyres but they have gone AWOL...it's not like I need them in a hurry but still... hopefully they arrive Monday.

Carburettor rebuild is complete. Thankfully no parts left over...



Bit tricky getting the pick up spring into the correct location, instructions weren't much use but thankfully found a post in here showing a detailed picture.

[colinf1]

A few more hours at it today, removed passenger side wheel hub etc. A fair few spring washers distorted out of shape.
Bottom ball joint seized in lower arm.
Bottom shock absorber pin seized in top arm.





Brake line bent and lots of corrosion before attempting to loosen off the nut, tried undoing it but it started bending as soon as I applied any pressure to it, so nipped it with some side cutters and squashed it closed.

Took off top shock mount to inspect the rust behind, a bit there alright...



More parts to add to Minispares cart, but seen a nice blue 1970s mini today on my way to a forest for a nice walk, it reminded me that it's all going to be worth it...

[colinf1]

Took one tyre off the rim to try and sand blast it...got the size of a £2 coin done in 20mins..
Either the paint is very hard or the abrasive is too fine/needs replacing.

Will try again tomorrow with fresh abrasive and if that doesn't work I'll look at paint stripper then cleaning them up afterwards in sand blasting cabinet.

Tyres arrived from minispares, thankfully it was only tyres as it got soaked sitting outside house for a few hours.

Rang to get prices for vapour blasting the car, looking around €1200 for shell doors and boot, not sure if that's a good price as there seems to be very few places that offer it here in Ireland.